The intended pronunciation of the word smial is unclear, and there are two possible approaches. Etymologically, the word represents a modernisation of the two-syllable Old English word smygel. That, and the fact that ia is not usually a diphthong in either Old English or modern English, could be taken to imply that smial should be pronounced with two separate vowel sounds as something like 'smy-al'.
On the other hand, we have an alternative spelling in unpublished material written for Appendix F to The Lord of the Rings, where Tolkien discusses his coinage of the word '...smial (or smile if you prefer it so)...' (from The History of Middle-earth volume XII, Part One, II The Appendix on Languages). Indeed, in some early versions of the text smial is actually spelt smile, implying that it should be pronounced with a single vowel sound like the English word 'smile'.
On the whole, the latter option (that is, a pronunciation like the English word 'smile') seems to be the better supported, but an argument could be at least offered for using either approach.
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